Apple's Marketing Strategy is Ruined in Europe

Vodafone may ruin Apple's well thought-out marketing plan. Giving exclusive rights on iPhone to a single operator is a simple and fantastic idea and there is no doubt that this simple strategy has worked for Apple perfectly in the USA.

However, as we have assumed, it would not be as easy in Europe as in the States. Moreover, Vodafone has won an injunction preventing T-Mobile from selling the iPhone in Germany. This fact is a failure of Apple's strategy in Europe's largest market.

Interestingly, as of now, there's some confusion about the extent of the injunction and it seems that even experts are not fully aware whether it is a total ban or SIM-free iPhones can still be sold.

I don't think German's will be left without iPhones. Most likely sales of the device will be resumed shortly and it is expected that German consumers will be able to purchase SIM-free iPhones. If this happens in other European markets (UK, France, etc), it is very interesting to see how this will be reflected on Apple.

As I have mentioned in of the previous posts, the exclusive marketing plan is totally out of question in the Asian markets.